


HunnyBunny

by JoMouse



Series: Imagine Sterek Events [5]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Don't copy to another site, Future Fic, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:22:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22687675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMouse/pseuds/JoMouse
Summary: Derek finds a jar outside his loft with his name on it.Day 3 ofImagine-Sterek'sValentine's Day Event. Theme: Love Confessions.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: Imagine Sterek Events [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1586374
Comments: 31
Kudos: 300





	HunnyBunny

**Author's Note:**

> Greetings and salutations.
> 
> I'm nearly asleep as I post these, so I'm just going to give a big thanks to [Marie](http://quietzap.tumblr.com) and Jenn for the super quick betas and ego boosts!
> 
> ETA: Big thanks to Rem in the Sterek Fic Club for coming up with HunnyBunny and helping inspire this story!
> 
> Don't know 'em. Don't own 'em. Don't show 'em.
> 
> xx-Joey

He wasn’t sure who had left the jar outside the door to the loft, but there were no unfamiliar scents so it must have been someone from the pack. Picking it up, he rolled his eyes at the foam red hearts surrounding his name painted in red nail polish. The nose burning acrylic smell still strong enough that it had to have been just barely dried when it had been dropped off.

Carrying it into the loft, he set it on the island in the kitchen and proceeded to put away the groceries he’d just bought and started making a simple stir-fry for dinner. As he added the vegetables to the strips of steak, he frowned at the small amount in the pan, thinking back on the huge dinners he’d help make when he was a kid. Cooking for one person was a lonely endeavor and although he could call the pack, he knew they all had plans for Valentine’s Day and he didn't want to bother them.

Turning off the heat under the pan, he plated the food and put the pan into the sink to soak before heading over to the couch to eat. His eye was caught by the jar as he passed the island and he reached out to grab it with the hand holding his fork. He set it on the coffee table next to where he rested his feet while he ate, studying the jar and trying to understand it. It was painted white so he couldn’t see what was inside, but when he nudged it with his foot, he heard a quiet rattle from inside.

Setting the plate down when he’d finished eating, he picked up the jar in his hand, finally weighing it and tossing it into the air and catching it, the rattle was there again. Shrugging, he decided to risk opening it. Twisting the lid, he grinned as a familiar scent of petrichor and old books wafted from the jar. Stiles was responsible for the jar and knowing the boy as well as he did after the years that had passed since that first afternoon in the preserve, it wasn’t even a tiny surprise. 

He shook the jar again, watching as different colored slips of paper rustled around inside, giving him a peek of something else at the bottom of the jar that was responsible for the rattling sounds. Using two fingers, he picked out a pink slip of paper and unfolded it to reveal handwriting that wasn’t Stiles’. Lifting the paper to his nose, he sniffed and smiled as Erika’s favorite perfume hit his nose.  _ Helped me become the best me I can be. _

He reread the words a couple of times, confusion filling him, but he set it to the side and reached inside, pulling out another slip. He sniffed it before opening it, smelling cold and motor oil, knowing it was from Boyd and probably filled out at the ice rink during one of his shifts, maybe even held up to the side of the Zamboni as he wrote on it.  _ Gave me a place to belong. _

Derek still wasn’t sure what was going on, but he reached for the next slip of paper and after a sniff, recognized Isaac.  _ Showed me family without fear and pain. _ His throat grew tight and he had to sniff a few times for a completely different reason before rubbing at his eyes. He remembered the argument when he’d thrown the glass, forcing Isaac away in a misguided attempt to protect him, and yet Isaac still wrote these words.

He rubbed the piece of paper between his fingers for a moment, imagining Isaac’s face as he carefully printed the words and then folded the paper. He wondered if Stiles read the slips before he put them in or if he’d just held the jar and allowed each person to put their own inside. He sniffed at the slips again, deciding he hadn’t, but Stiles’ scent was still strong coming from the jar.

Setting the jar and pieces of paper back on the coffee table, Derek got to his feet and put his plate in the sink, deciding to wash the dishes, needing distance from the words he’d read. He allowed his mind to go over the words from his betas. As the water filled the sink, the bubbles growing, he pulled his phone out and looked at it before he opened up his text messages.

Opening the thread with Erica, he typed quickly with one hand while turning off the water in the sink with the other.  _ You were always the amazing woman you are now, you just had to trust yourself enough to let her out. _ He hit send before he could stop himself and moved on to Boyd’s messages next.

This one he hesitated over, knowing that his normally taciturn beta wouldn’t appreciate being fawned over so he had to approach it a bit differently.  _ I’d like your help this weekend at the house. Can you make it? _ He’d barely hit send when Boyd sent back a thumbs-up emoji, followed by a smiley face, an eye roll, and another emoji that he suspected was supposed to be a jar. No one would ever believe just how much Boyd loved emojis, so he responded with a middle finger emoji, laughing when there was no further response.

He washed the dishes as he planned his text to Isaac and by the time he was done, the dishes in the drying rack and the sink drained and cleaned until it was sparkling, he knew what he needed to send. Flipping through the photos on his phone, he found one of himself and Isaac from a barbecue at the Stilinskis’ house the summer before. He wasn’t sure who had stolen his phone to snap the picture, although he suspected it was Stiles, because Derek had Isaac in a playful headlock and was rubbing his knuckles into his scalp. His own face was beaming and from the small sliver that was visible, Isaac’s smile was just as bright.

It took him a moment to find the app that Stiles had downloaded to his phone and created a frame for the photo that said, “Brother from another mother.” He sent it off, not expecting a response when he remembered that Isaac was going to the movies with Scott that night.

Feeling a sense of satisfaction, he moved back to the couch and picked up the jar again, ready to see what else was in the jar. The next few slips of paper were from Scott and Kira. They were both sweet, but a bit less personal than the ones from his betas. He still sent them each a text, smiling at the smiley face and red heart he got back from Kira; he was beginning to appreciate emojis. Scott responded with a simple,  _ Dude, _ and Derek laughed.

There were messages from Jackson and Lydia as well. He pulled them out one after the other because their scents were intermingled on both of them and he wasn’t as familiar with their handwriting as the others. Even their messages were similar enough to confuse him.  _ Remind me I’m more than a pretty face _ and  _ Made me feel useful. _ He suspected the pretty face comment was Jackson, but he was afraid to be wrong. 

He sent off a text to Jackson asking if he had some ideas for a couple of the rooms on the top floor of the new house that hadn’t been assigned uses at that point. His message to Lydia asked her to help him with the interior design of the house, something she’d been dropping not so subtle hints about since the first wall went up.

Lydia didn’t respond, but he didn’t expect her to and Jackson sent back a suggestion for a Library/Workroom for Stiles and his magic in the room that took up the entire east side of the top floor. He said he’d sketch something out for him and show him at the next Pack meeting. Derek smiled at the idea, he hadn’t even considered that would be something Stiles would appreciate at the house so he wouldn’t have to keep lugging his supplies back and forth between his apartment and the Pack.

Looking into the jar, there was a small envelope shoved down at the bottom and Derek picked it out, recognizing Allison’s handwriting spelling out his name on the front. Stiles must have sent a request to her all the way in France to do this; this gift was not thrown together at the last minute, it had taken time and effort.

Using a claw to open the envelope, he pulled out a lavender slip of paper similar to the others and read it over.  _ Gave forgiveness where it probably wasn’t deserved but was always appreciated. _

Yeah, Derek was crying now, glad no one was at the loft to witness it. He picked up his phone and instead of sending a text, he quickly calculated the time in France and hit call. Allison picked up right away, her tone concerned, especially when Derek’s greeting was choked and wet. She calmed when he mentioned the jar and their conversation lasted about fifteen minutes mostly about superficial topics until she said she had to get going.

“Thank you,” Derek said. “Seriously. I can’t even tell you what your words meant.”

Allison’s laugh was light but Derek could hear the affection in it. “Probably not even half as much as your friendship means to me,” she told him. “Goodbye, Derek. Don’t be a stranger.”

“I won’t.”

Derek stared at his phone for several minutes after the call was disconnected, exhaustion washing over him. He debated leaving the jar until the next day, but his curiosity about what Stiles had written or if he’d written anything overrode his lethargy. Sitting up, he pulled out another slip, peeking inside and seeing no more slips of paper and just a box. 

He sniffed at the paper, expecting pure Stiles and wrinkling his nose when he was overwhelmed by Peter’s sharp smell, like leather and cheap cologne underlaid with a twisted version of the Hale scent. He was surprised his uncle had participated and he wondered if Stiles had told him about the project or if Peter had just included himself. 

Laughter burst out of him as he read Peter’s message and he knew for sure that Stiles hadn’t looked at the slips before they were put in the jar. “Have incredible taste in relatives,” Derek read aloud, laughing and debating sending something to Peter but decided to just ignore it. His silence would annoy Peter more than any response he could come up with on his own.

He was still chuckling when he tipped the jar and the small box at the bottom tumbled out, landing in his palm. It was wrapped in red paper with a pattern of golden filigree hearts. Lifting it to his nose, he gave an extra deep inhale at the pure Stiles scent that came off of it and if it made him smile softly and his heart throb a bit more, he was alone in the loft and no one would know.

As he carefully pulled the paper off the box, a piece of paper fell out of the wrapping, larger than the other slips but he wasn’t surprised that Stiles had more words than the others, he never seemed to run out of them, no matter the topic. He unfolded the sheet and saw that it wasn’t as full as he expected it to be, but still said a lot.

_ Sourwolf, _

_ I hope you like the messages from the Pack. I don’t know what any of them said, but I’m sure that with the exception of Creepy Uncle, they were sweet and kind. I’m sure you’re wondering why I did all of this and the answer is simple, but incredibly difficult for me to admit.  _

_ I want to tell you something, but I know it will be hard for you to believe because of everything that you have been through and because I know you. I was hoping that if you heard from everyone all of the reasons that they love, or at least care about you, you might believe me when I told you. _

_ So, now that you’ve read everyone’s, I can tell you that I’m in love with you. Terribly and undeniably in love. I don’t know if you feel the same way, but I have to hope that if you don’t, I haven’t completely ruined everything between us because I don’t think I could handle not having you in my life, even if it’s just as a friend. _

_ So, Happy Valentine’s Day, Derek.  _

_ Love, _

_ Stiles _

Derek read the letter over several times, his brain not wanting to believe the words but his heart beating strongly enough that he suspected if Stiles were standing in the room, even his human ears would be able to pick it up. He wasn’t sure how he missed Stiles’ feelings for him, if he’d known, he would’ve acted on his own a long time before that moment.

He remembered looking at Stiles after the pool incident, when the word ‘abomination’ slipped past his lips and the look he gave Derek sent electricity zinging through him, stealing his breath. He knew at that moment that he was in love, but he also knew he couldn’t act on it with Stiles still as young as he was.

For the next five years, he stood back and watched Stiles, loving him from afar and cheering him on as he left for the FBI and became an agent before giving it all up to return to Beacon Hills to work with his father because he missed the Pack. Or maybe, he had just missed Derek and didn’t know how to tell him.

They spent a lot of time together and Derek had gotten a couple of hints that Stiles might feel something for him, but he convinced himself it was just wishful thinking. Now that he knew it wasn’t, he also knew he had to do something big to tell Stiles how he felt. The room for him at the house was a good start, but there was nothing there yet to show Stiles what he had planned, with Jackson’s help. 

Unfortunately, he wasn’t very creative when it came to these things and he thought about calling Lydia but he really wanted to try and do this on his own in case it still blew up in his face. 

He grabbed his jacket and keys, tugging open the door to the loft and freezing because Stiles was leaning against the wall across from him, hands shoved in his pockets, eyes locked on his feet. “Sourwolf,” he greeted, smirking when Derek growled. “Going somewhere?”

“I was, but if you need me…”

Stiles looked up, the apples of his cheeks pink and the sour scent of his anxiety hit Derek’s nose as he whispered, “I always need you.”

Derek stepped closer, letting out a deep breath. “Then I’m always here.”

“Always have been,” Stiles teased, pushing off from the wall. “Since the pool.”

“Since that first day in the preserve,” Derek corrected, remembering watching Stiles train Scott in ways that he couldn’t, stronger and smarter than any wolf he’d ever met as he held a hand out to Stiles.

“That long, eh?” Stiles asked, laying his hand in Derek’s and laughing when he pulled him against his chest, pressing his free hand to the back of Stiles’ waist and resting his forehead against his. “Are we going to waltz?”

“We’re going to do whatever you want, as long as you stay in my arms,” Derek told him. “Because I love you, too.”

Stiles’ smile grew and he tilted his head so their lips brushed between them and he threw his head back to laugh when Derek whimpered at the contact. “Why did you wait so long to tell me?”

“I was afraid,” Derek admitted after he rubbed the tip of his nose against Stiles’. “I didn’t want to push you away, but I think I was doing that by not telling you.”

“No,” Stiles countered. “I wasn’t ever going anywhere. I would’ve waited forever for you to come to your senses. I  _ love _ you, Sourwolf.”

Derek growled at the nickname, but a smile slowly crossed his face as he gave into the heat between them and kissed Stiles the way he’d been wanting to do for years. When the kiss ended and they were both gasping for air, Derek pressed a kiss to the tip of Stiles’ nose. “I love you, too, HunnyBunny,” he whispered, swallowing Stiles’ objections with another kiss and pulling him back into the loft, his heart full as he thought that he wouldn’t be cooking for one any longer.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi to me at josjournal on tumblr!!!!
> 
> Kudos and Comments are food for the writer's soul.


End file.
